Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, August 25, 2013

We're four days from the 2013 football season kicking off. Indiana (Indiana State) and Minnesota (UNLV) get things started for the Big Ten on Thursday, Aug. 29 on BTN/BTN2Go. To help count down the days to kickoff, BTN.com is ranking the top 25 players. Join us as we count it down, from 25-1, every day.

No. 4: Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State

Who's the best defensive player on Ohio State? It's a close race between Ryan Shazier and cornerback Bradley Roby, our No. 6 player. But the supremely talented linebacker gets our vote. Shazier, who averaged 9.6 tackles last year, may be the most likely candidate to dethrone Iowa's Anthony Hitchens as the Big Ten's tackle leader. The speedy and athletic linebacker isn't just a tackling machine, though; he's also adept defending the pass and rushing the passer. And with that combination, coupled with the fact Ohio State is the preseason Big Ten favorite, Shazier enters the season as the frontrunner for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

View Shazier's career stats:
2011 stats:
57 tackles; 5 TFL; 3 sacks; 2 FF
2012 stats:
115 tackles; 17 TFL; 5 sacks; 1 INT; 11 BU; 12 PD; 3 FF

BTN.com?s top 25 players of 2013
1.
Aug. 28
2.
Aug. 27
3.
Aug. 26
4.
Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State
5.
Venric Mark, RB, Northwestern
6.
Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State
7.
Allen Robinson, WR, Penn State
8.
Devin Gardner, QB, Michigan
9.
Chris Borland, LB, Wisconsin
10.
Max Bullough, LB, Michigan State
11.
Ra'Shede Hageman, DT, Minnesota
12.
Kenny Bell, WR, Nebraska
13.
Tyler Scott, DE, Northwestern
14.
Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska
15.
Brandon Vitabile, C, Northwestern
16. Jack Mewhort, OT, Ohio State
17.
Kain Colter, QB, Northwestern
18. Jared Abbrederis, WR, Wisconsin
19. Spencer Long, G, Nebraska
20.
Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State
21.
Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
22.
Deion Barnes, DE, Penn State
23.
Isaiah Lewis, S, Michigan State
24. James White, RB, Wisconsin
25.
Anthony Hitchens, LB, Iowa